Yeast cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Research Articles

Feedback Inhibition on Cell Wall Integrity Signaling by Zds1 Involves Gsk3 Phosphorylation of a cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Regulatory Subunit

We report here that budding yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) is controlled by heat stress. A rise in temperature from 30 to 37 degrees C was found to result in both a higher expression and an increased cytoplasmic localization of its regulatory subunit Bcy1. Both of these effects required phosphorylation of serines located in its localization domain. Surprisingly, classic cAPK-controlled processes were found to be independent of Bcy1 phosphorylation, indicating that these modifications do not affect cAPK activity as such. Alternatively, phosphorylation may recruit cAPK to, and thereby control, a specific subset of (perhaps novel) cAPK targets that are presumably localized extranuclearly. Zds1 and Zds2 may play a role in this process, since these were found required to retain hyperphosphorylated Bcy1 in the cytoplasm at 37 degrees C. Mck1, a homologue of mammalian glycogen synthase kinase 3 and a downstream component of the heat-activated Pkc1-Slt2/Mpk1 cell wall integrity pathway, is partly responsible for hyperphosphorylations of Bcy1. Remarkably, Zds1 appears to act as a negative regulator of cell wall integrity signaling, and this activity is dependent in part on the phosphorylation status of Bcy1. Thus, Mck1 phosphorylation of Bcy1 and Zds1 may constitute an unprecedented negative feedback control on the cell wall integrity-signaling pathway.

PARTIAL PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUTRAL TREHALASE FROM COMMERCIAL BAKER'S YEAST, SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The neutral trehalase of a commercial baker's yeast (S. cerevisiae) strain has been partially purified using ammonium sulfate fractionation and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography techniques. Trehalase was precipitated between 35-50% ammonium sulfate saturation and approximately 5-8 fold purification was achieved. The yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase was also precipitated in the same fraction and these two proteins were separated by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Trehalase became totally inactive after ion exchange chromatography, cryptic trehalase (tre-c), but was later activated with the addition of partially purified protein kinase together with cAMP and ATP. A 215 fold purification was obtained after DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. One mMEDTA caused complete inhibition of the enzyme in crude extract, however the inhibition levels in ammonium sulfate and DEAE-cellulose fractions were 73.5% and 50%, respectively. Optimal pH range and temperature of the enzyme were determined as pH 6-6.8 and 30C, respectively. The kinetic parameters, K m and V max , were estimated as 11.78 mM trehalose and 12.47 μmole glucose/ min-mg protein, respectively.

PKA from Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be activated by cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP

Analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome revealed no sequence homologous to cyclic GMP (cGMP) dependent protein kinase from other organisms. Here we demonstrate that cyclic AMP (cAMP) dependent protein kinase purified from S. cerevisiae was almost equally activated by cAMP and cGMP in 3 x 10(-6) M concentrations of either nucleotide in the presence of Mg2+ ions. Interestingly, if Mn2+ ions were used instead of Mg2+, cGMP was only 30% as effective as cAMP in the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Analogs of cAMP such as 8-chloro-cAMP and 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate of ribofuranosylbenzimidazole were as potent as cAMP in the enzyme activation, while N6,2'-O-dibutyryl-cAMP activated the enzyme to a lower extent. It was also found that yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase can be activated by limited proteolytic digestion. The results presented were obtained with protamine and ribosomal protein S10 used as phosphorylation substrates.

Yeast PKA represses Msn2p/Msn4p-dependent gene expression to regulate growth, stress response and glycogen accumulation.

Yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity is essential for growth and antagonizes induction of the general stress response as well as accumulation of glycogen stores. Previous studies have suggested that the PKA effects on the two latter processes result in part from transcription repression. Here we show that transcription derepression that accompanies PKA depletion is dependent upon the presence of two redundant Zn2+-finger transcription factors, Msn2p and Msn4p. The Msn2p and Msn4p proteins were shown previously to act as positive transcriptional factors in the stress response pathway, and our results suggest that Msn2p and Msn4p also mediate PKA-dependent effects on stress response as well as glycogen accumulation genes. Interestingly, PKA activity is dispensable in a strain lacking Msn2p and Msn4p activity. Thus, Msn2p and Msn4p may antagonize PKAdependent growth by stimulating expression of genes that inhibit growth. In agreement with this model, Msn2p/Msn4p function is required for expression of a gene, YAK1, previously shown to antagonize PKA-dependent growth. These results suggest that Msn2p/Msn4p-dependent gene expression may account for all, or at least most, of the pleiotropic effects of yeast PKA, including growth regulation, response to stress and carbohydrate store accumulation.

Crystallization and preliminary x-ray analysis of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A truncated variant of TPK1, the yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, was overexpressed in an engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, purified by liquid chromatography, and crystallized from solutions of 2-propanol and magnesium at alkaline pH. The crystals are hexagonal dipyramids, space group P6(1)22 (P6(5)22), with unit-cell parameters a = b = 61 A, c = 320 A. Large single crystals suitable for diffraction analysis are obtainable by microseeding, and diffract beyond 2.8-A resolution. Crystal density measurements reveal 12 kinase monomers per unit cell with a single kinase monomer per asymmetric unit.

Yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase regulatory subunit mutations display a variety of phenotypes.

Ten spontaneous and four in vitro constructed mutations in the gene encoding the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae display very different phenotypes. The DNA nucleotide sequence of each spontaneous mutation was determined. Mutations were found in both the cAMP-binding domains and proximal to the cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site. The latter mutations exhibited dominant traits when gene dosage was increased. The variation of phenotypes of sra1 mutations was examined. Many aspects of growth are affected, including growth on nonfermentable carbon sources, accumulation of glycogen, ability to sporulate, and ability to survive starvation. The null mutations affect all these traits. None of the spontaneous mutations confer the null phenotype. Instead, these mutations can be placed into groups of increasing severity based on the number of traits affected. These traits reflect the functions of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrates and ranking of sra1 phenotypes probably reflects a progressive defect in one or more aspects of the regulatory subunit function.

Mutagenesis of the regulatory subunit of yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Isolation of site-directed mutants with altered binding affinity for catalytic subunit.

Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was used to produce mutants in the hinge region of the regulatory subunit (R) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The mutant proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, urea treated to produce cAMP-free regulatory (R), and analyzed in vitro for catalytic (C) subunit inhibitory activity in the presence and absence of cAMP. When assayed in the absence of cAMP, wild type R dimer inhibited C with an IC50 of 40 nM. Replacement of amino acid residue Ser-145 (the autophosphorylation site of yeast R) with Ala or Gly produced mutants which were 2-10-fold better inhibitors of C, while replacement with Glu, Asp, Lys, or Thr produced mutants which were 2-5-fold worse inhibitors of C relative to wild type R. When assayed in the presence of cAMP, all R subunits had a decreased affinity for C subunit, with Ser-145 and Thr-145 undergoing autophosphorylation. These results suggest that the amino acid at position 145 of R contributes to R-C interaction and therefore influences the equilibrium of yeast protein kinase subunits in vitro.

Yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase can be associated to the plasma membrane

Using an anti-yeast regulatory subunit antibody and the synthetic peptide Kemptide as specific substrate we show in this work that purified preparations of yeast plasma membrane have an associated form of the regulatory subunit and cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. Treatment of the plasma membrane “in vitro” with 1 μM cAMP releases cAMP-independent protein kinase activity while regulatory subunit remains on the membrane as revealed by immunoblotting. Incubation of the plasma membrane with [γ- 32P]ATP results in the phosphorylation of the regulatory subunit.

Phosphorylation and inactivation of yeast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase from yeast.

Purified fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was phosphorylated in vitro by purified yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Maximal phosphorylation was accompanied by an inactivation of the enzyme by about 60%. In vitro phosphorylation caused changes in the kinetic properties of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase: 1) the ratio R(Mg2+/Mn2+) of the enzyme activities measured at 10 mM Mg2+ and 2 mM Mn2+, respectively, decreased from 2.6 to 1.2; 2) the ratio R(pH 7/9) of the activities measured at pH 7.0 and pH 9.0, respectively, decreased from 0.62 to 0.38, indicating a shift of the pH optimum to the alkaline range. However, the affinity of the enzyme for its inhibitors fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) and AMP, expressed as the concentration required for 50% inhibition, was not changed. The maximum amount of phosphate incorporated into fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was 0.6-0.75 mol/mol of the 40-kDa subunit. Serine was identified as the phosphate-labeled amino acid. The initial rate of in vitro phosphorylation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, obtained with a maximally cAMP-activated protein kinase, increased when Fru-2,6-P2 and AMP, both potent inhibitors of the enzyme, were added. As Fru-2,6-P2 and AMP did not affect the phosphorylation of histone by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the inhibitors must bind to fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in such a way that the enzyme becomes a better substrate for phosphorylation. Nevertheless, Fru-2,6-P2 and AMP did not increase the maximum amount of phosphate incorporated into fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase beyond that observed in the presence of cAMP alone.

Purification and phosphorylation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from Kluyveromyces fragilis.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from the yeast Kluyveromyces fragilis was found to have an apparent Mr = 155,000 and to be composed of four Mr = 35,000 subunits. The extent and rate of phosphorylation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-1,6-P2) by yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase were dependent on fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase inhibitors, 5'-AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2). In the absence of inhibitor, the enzyme was slowly phosphorylated with a maximum incorporation of 1 mol of phosphate/mol of enzyme. The presence of both inhibitors greatly increased the phosphorylation rate with a maximum incorporation of 2 mol of phosphate/mol of enzyme. The presence of only one inhibitor led to an intermediate rate of phosphorylation with 2 mol of phosphate incorporated/mol of enzyme. There was no significant change in enzymatic activity after phosphorylation. The estimated sedimentation coefficient of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was lowered by 5'-AMP from 8.2 to 5.7 while Fru-2,6-P2 increased the S value to 8.5. The presence of either Fru-1,6-P2 or Fru-2,6-P2 prevented the 5'-AMP lowering of S value. The susceptibility of enzyme to partial tryptic digestion was not changed by the presence of 5'-AMP. The presence of both Fru-2,6-P2 and 5'-AMP led to the protection of Mr = 35,000 subunit from tryptic digestion while Fru-2,6-P2 alone led to a protection of an Mr = 30,000 peptide fragment. This peptide fragment did not contain the phosphorylation sites. Our results suggest that the rapid regulation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase following glucose addition is controlled mainly by enzyme inhibitors.

Phosphorylation of the regulatory subunit of yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

In vitro phosphorylation of the regulatory subunit of yeast cAMP-dependent protein kinase was studied. The cAMP-binding regulatory subunit (R subunit) can be multiply phosphorylated. Three distinct phosphorylation sites were inferred from the different ATP concentrations required for phosphorylation and from the presence of two discrete mobility shifts in NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the R subunit on phosphorylation. Limited tryptic digestion of the phosphorylated R subunit showed that a Mr 37,000 cAMP-binding peptide contained one of the phosphorylation sites and that a separate Mr 12,000 peptide contained another phosphorylation site. The yeast R subunit is therefore similar to the type II R subunit of mammalian origin, although it has a larger Mr (64,000 vs. 58,000) and is multiply phosphorylated. In vivo, both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated forms of the R subunit were found in cells grown in lactate or to stationary phase in 1.5% glucose, while cells grown in 5% glucose contained the unphosphorylated form.